Broken
by flutterbybutterflyx
Summary: Jerome has broken up with Joy but how will each of them cope with the aftermath {Rated K /T for Depression and Angsty stuff in later chapters}
1. Prologue: Perspective

set directly after the play in season 3 from the points of view of both Joy and Jerome {alternate storyline}

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**No one will ever see  
this side reflected  
and if there's something wrong  
who would have guessed it  
**Never Too Late, Three Days Grace

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'Breathe Joy breathe' she told herself, 'you don't even like him' she was lying of course, she loved him, she loved him more than she had ever loved anyone, he was different she had had a crush on Fabian for as long as she'd known him but this one was new, how could he do that to her, one minute they were in love and the next they weren't, how she was going to get over this she didn't know. She thought back to how she felt when she was rejected by Fabian earlier that year, 'Why would anybody ever like you' that's what she told herself in her head, it wasn't that it made her feel better, she just believed it to be true. She really thought that this time would be different, but why did she think that.

'You've just broken up with her Jerome' the voice in his head told him 'stop looking at her like that'. Jerome was still trying to fathom why he had just broken up with Joy, she made him the happiest that he had ever felt in his life, yet she had tricked him, all this time he thought that their love was real but all along it had all been part of a master plan to get revenge on him, for how he had treated Mara. There were tears welling up in Joys eyes but he told himself not to care, this was a play and Joy was a good actress, after all she had been acting all along, he couldn't go on with the play anymore, he had to get out, he had to get away from the one girl he had ever truly loved but had broken his heart.

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just a short prologue to open with, please feel free to review if you enjoyed it :)


	2. Chapter 1: Starting To Sink

this is really short but it's just getting the story started {written from joys point of view}

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**If I could find a way to see this straight  
I'd run away  
to some fortune that I should have found by now  
**Cough Syrup, Young the Giant

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Joy sat on her bed, alone in the room with her head buried in her knees, her phone constantly buzzing with messages but she ignored them all, nobody had seen her after the play so they were all worried.

"Joy," a voice echoed from the door "Are you in here?" the door swung open and Mara was standing there, Joy quickly wiped the tears from her eyes before turning to look at Mara. "Are you alright Joy?" she asked "no one has seen you and we were all worried"

"Yeah Mara" Joy sighed "I'm just tired, that's all"

"I'll just leave you then" Mara replied smiling, Joy forced a smile and waited until the footsteps trotting down the stairs had gone before bursting into tears. She was tired, she hadn't made that up, but that obviously wasn't the sole reason.

She looked up and saw all of the letters and photographs from Jerome that she had pinned to her notice board and quickly turned her head away so she didn't need to relive the best days of her life, spent with the person she loved. All she wanted now was to be with him again, he made her feel better about herself and now she was really feeling the opposite, it was as if someone had come and sucked all of the happiness and confidence out of her, leaving her with an empty shell, that was refilling, but refilling with negative perspectives and twisted images, this was not the way that Joy should be.

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thanks for reading, feel free to review if you liked it :)


	3. Chapter 2: Time to Think

same time period as chapter 1 but from Jerome's point of view

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**When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears  
when you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears  
and I held your hand through all of these years  
but you still have, all of me  
**My Immortal, Evanescence

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Jerome's head was spinning, he had just watched Joy running of the stage in tears, and it killed him to see her this way. Just a few days ago he had said that her happiness was the most important thing and he meant it, at least he did.

After finding out about the plan surrounding his payback, he didn't really care anymore, he was much more focused on overcoming the pain he felt having just broken up with Joy but he knew that he had to do it, if he didn't it would just come back to bite him again, making him look like a complete idiot.

"Hey buddy, are you okay?" Alfie ran up to see him, "Great job in the play by the way"

"Thanks Alfie" he sighed, "Are you ready to go and have some fun at the after party"

"Am I ever" Alfie replied and they headed back to Anubis together, Jerome didn't say much for the duration of the journey back, he tried to appear interested in whatever nonsense Alfie was saying about Willow but really it was all just passing through him. When they arrived Jerome wasn't really in a partying mood which was unlike Jerome, normally he would jump at the opportunity.

"I'm just going to turn in early" he said, "Acting can be really tiring"

"Okay" Alfie said, thinking nothing of it, "I'll smuggle some food back for you"

Jerome walked sluggishly to his room and when he got in he slumped himself down on his bed and threw his head into his hands, shaking his head as he did so, he wasn't really tired, he just wanted an excuse to not go to the party, an excuse to be alone, an excuse to have some time to think, that was all he wanted, time to think about whether or not he had done the right thing but already he was doubting himself.

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hope you liked it, feel free to review if you did :)


	4. Chapter 3: Sorry

it's a little tedious to start with but stick with it

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**I die each time you look away  
My heart, my life will never be the same  
This love will take my everything  
One breath, one touch will be the end of me  
**Love Song Requiem, Trading Yesterday

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Joy couldn't sleep that night, she spent hours lying in her bed tossing and turning, her body was a personified form of her mind, it was tumbling freely, confused as to what was happening both in her head and in the real world.

In the morning her head was burning, she didn't want to face school but she couldn't miss out on her honours. She headed to the bathroom early and popped in an aspirin to try and soothe her headache, she flicked on the shower and washed her body and hair, shaving her legs and underarms before exiting, she tied a towel around her head and wrapped one around herself and made her way back to the bedroom. She pulled on her school uniform and headed downstairs.

Trudy had breakfast laid out but nobody was there yet, she grabbed a slice of toast and headed out to school, she was over two hours early though so she took a detour to one of the benches in the surrounding grounds, Joy liked to go here when she needed to think about something, but when she arrived, she wasn't alone. On the next bench along there sat a tall, mousy haired boy, head bent, with tears glazing his eyes, he looked up when he heard her coming.

"I thought I might find you here" he said when he saw that it was Joy approaching,

"What do you want Jerome?" she whined

"I screwed up" he said sympathetically "and I'm sorry"

"Jerome, shut up" she snapped as she stormed away

"Joy" he called after her "Wait" he ran after her touched her shoulder and she spun around, "Joy just hear me out"

"You know I'd love too but I really, really don't feel like it" she replied

"I said I was sorry" he said

"But I don't know if you meant it, you've broken too many girls hearts before for me to believe you" she yelled and then ran away for the second time,

"Joy!" he screamed after her, but she couldn't hear him, he thought he saw her mouth 'jerk' back at him but he wasn't sure, what had he done, all he wanted was Joy back and he needed to show her that he was being sincere or else she would never take him back and that he was sure of.

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if you liked it feel free to review :)


	5. Chapter 4: After School

Written in the same time period but from both Jerome and Joy's points of view, you'll be able to tell who's is who's {ignore the crappy chapter title}

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**Maybe it's another chance,  
to mock myself again.  
Maybe it's another chance,  
I'm sure I'll f**k things up in the same way.  
Maybe it's another chance,  
to mock myself again.  
**Treading Water, Alex Clare

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The day went by slowly that day; both Joy and Jerome spent the entirety taking it in turns to gaze at each other, out of spite, want or loneliness. Joy wanted him back. She said she didn't but there was no denying that she did, and everybody knew that Jerome needed Joy back. But no one understood how much they needed each other until they had been separated.

After school, Joy headed straight up to her room and avoided conversation with anybody; her head was still bothering her so she made a quick detour to the bathroom to grab another aspirin. When she got to her room she started her homework almost immediately as this gave her a good excuse to not be bothered although she did feel like Mara.

Jerome did the opposite, he waited behind after school, partly because he had a detention but he would have stayed anyway, Joy was going back to the house so he needed to be as far away from her as possible, he had not been on form that day and was coming off with remarks and behaving in a manner that even for Jerome was harsh and unpredictable, so the teachers had no choice other than to give him detention.

Everybody trumped back into the house after a long day of school, they brought a lot of noise with them as they went it was distracting Joy from her work and started to make her head pound again, she lay down on her bed and closed her eyes, sleep was now the best solution.

When detention had finished, the other students all barged out of the classroom, leaving Jerome alone in the room with the teacher, she was catching up on marking so she wasn't paying much attention and Jerome was being silent anyway but whenever she looked up she saw him sitting there; head bowed, staring at the floor in front of the desk where he was sitting.

"Clarke," she addressed him, slightly confused as the why a pupil was still sitting in her class after dismissal "shouldn't you be getting back to the house?"

"I'd like to wait a while longer" he replied, "If you don't mind", she agreed but with little understanding as to why, after around twenty minutes, Jerome finally left, Miss Denby behind him.

When Jerome arrived back he was greeted by everyone grabbing dinner, Trudy made the best dinners, he sat down and scanned his eye along the table, when he noticed something,

"Where's Joy?"

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it's getting to the climax now so keep checking back and also feel free to review if you enjoyed it :)


	6. Chapter 5: Discovering the Truth

sorry I haven't posted this yet, I've been festivaling and I've had no laptop or wifi {pity me} but anyway enjoy this chapter

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**You're climbing the stairs, unaware that she's hurting  
Bad and lying very still on the floor by the door  
But it's locked 'cause she was hoping  
You would come back for more  
But it's too late to realize you've made mistakes  
**She Falls Asleep (Part II), McFly

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The dinner table looked around, they couldn't see Joy either. She hadn't been around all day so they weren't really that worried,

"Maybe she's just in her room?" one suggested,

"I'll go and check" Jerome answered running up the stairs,

"Jerome!" Trudy called after him "Where are you g…"

"Joy" everyone else groaned simultaneously, cutting her off.

Jerome approached her door and tried to swing it open but it wouldn't budge, he tried again but the same result, she fumbled with the handle for a few seconds before he decided that it was definitely locked. He kicked the door breaking it down but it didn't make a crash, it landed on something soft, it was a body. Jerome ran towards her and grabbed her wrist to check her pulse. It was still there but it was fading. He studied her wrists; there were no cuts he scanned the room and found the empty aspirin bottle and slowly backed out of the room, he ran downstairs with tears streaming down his face.

"Trudy, Mara, Alfie" Jerome called out, the first names that he could fathom in his mind "Fabian, Willow, Eddie, Patricia, KT, help please" he said crying.

"What is it Jerome?" KT replied "is it Joy?"

He nodded and bit his lip and closed his eyes as everyone rushed out of the dining room and upstairs into Joy's room. Jerome followed. Everyone was crowding around her but Jerome waited at the door, leaning against the doorpost, tears still welling up.

"She's still breathing!" someone shouted

"Do you know what happened" several people echoed back, Jerome pulled out the aspirin bottle and held it up, while he heard people making suggestions, whenever Jerome caught Mara's eye,

Everyone was speechless; no one said anything for about two minutes,

"I remember her saying that she had a sore head in school this morning" Mara said quietly "but…" the sentence drew to a close midway as Mara couldn't think of what to say, she didn't want to think what to say, everyone stared at her for the duration it took Patricia to phone an ambulance and when she hung up, everyone broke down into tears, but Jerome remained leaning on the doorpost.

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feel free to review if you liked it thanks for reading :)


	7. Chapter 6: Lying There

i apologize that all of my stories seem to take place in a hospital oops anyway this is just a short chapter but enjoy

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**And the tears come streaming down your face  
when you lose something you can't replace  
when you love someone but it goes to waste  
could it be worse  
**Fix You, Coldplay

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Her hand was cold; he knew that as he had been holding it for three hours. The cardiogram was beeping steadily as the oxygen poured inside her body through the mask clasped around her mouth.

"Hang on" he said under his breath "just hang on" he knelt down grasping her hand tighter and kissed it gently. It was at that moment that the cardiogram sped up and began to mimic a heartbeat. Jerome's ears took note and he raised his head suddenly to fix his eyes on her once again. The doctors also ran in as the sign of hope threw them into action, as the quickly entered the ward they were greeted with some stirring which strongly suggested that Joy was going to pull through. Then almost as soon as it had occurred the beeping began to slow again.

Jerome face dropped; a smile had begun to beam on his face but now that smile was fading, he saw the doctors reach for their clipboards to prepare.

The cardiograph stopped and a long beep remained.

"Time of death 10.27pm" one doctor said as another wrote it down. Jerome's heart sank as his head crashed down and landed on the bed and he broke into tears. Some of the Anubis residents who had waited with Jerome outside came into the ward, the tears streaming down their face too, all coming in to pay their respects to Joy's corpse lying motionless on the bed and a brokenhearted Jerome collapsed beside it. That was until the loud sobbing stopped and they paused to listen. The cardiograph was beeping again and it sounded healthy. Several doctors rushed into the ward once again, awestruck by the events that had just occurred and stared openmouthed at the girl who had been declared dead ten minutes ago but was somehow still alive.

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that was really short I know but feel free to review if you liked it :)


	8. Chapter 7: He Waited

this is a lot longer than all the other chapters, I was going to leave it mid chapter but then I decided to just combine it together

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**I don't want to be old and sleep alone  
an empty house is not a home  
I don't want to be old and feel afraid  
**Atlantic, Keane

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"Well," the doctor said, "we're not sure what's happened but it appears that Miss Mercer is now alive again."

Tears filled the eyes of everyone in the ward once again but this time they were different, the smiles were beaming on their faces and their eyes lit up but none more so that Jerome. They looked down to see Joy stirring on the bed. She began to sit up and Jerome knelt down beside her bed, biting his fist to hold in his tears.

"What happened?" she said yawning as she did.

"You were dead" Willow chimed in,

"What?" Joy said confused

"But now you're alive!" she yelled back as she ran toward her bed giving her a massive hug "Squee!"

Joy turned her head to see Jerome staring at her through the corner of her eye,

"What's he doing here" she said straightening her back, Jerome looked at her nervously, "I wan't him away from me"

"Joy listen" Mara tried to reason with her,

"Please," she pleaded

"Listen it's obvious she doesn't want me here so I'll just go and wait outside" Jerome said making his way across the ward towards the door. When he exited he sat down on a bench and cried, he didn't sob, he was too big for that but he was aware of the tears that were running down his cheeks every second more he was kept away from Joy.

A doctor ran into the room to check how proceedings were doing, he observed the crowd gathered around Joy's bed and then came up with the one question that was perched on his lips.

"Where is the tall boy" he said "Jerome Clarke I believe"

"I don't want to speak to Jerome" Joy snapped back "Okay"

The doctor appeared taken aback by the abruptness of Joy's remark.

"Well that's your decision" the doctor replied, "but just to tell you, Mr. Clarke has stayed by your side all evening. He hasn't left once. Until now"

Joy's face fell "really?" she asked the others gathered around her bedside.

"Really," they all agreed

Joy sat up straight and exhaled forcefully. "Would you mind leaving and send Jerome back in please?" she said "That's the last thing that I ask"

The students all moved hastily out if the room while throwing each other suggestive glances. When they left they fussed with Jerome and finally lured him back into the empty ward.

"Hi" Joy said when she saw him, he didn't answer her, "Thank you by the way,"

"For what?" he said acerbically "saving your life, no thanks necessary"

"Jerome," she said almost tearing "hey" he approached her slowly and with caution.

"I waited all night for you and you respond by throwing me out," he asked her as she bit her lip thinking of a response,

"Jerome I didn't..." she started but Jerome interrupted.

"You didn't know," he said "why is it that now that you do know, you suddenly want me back, answer me that" he could see the tears forming in her eyes, but he didn't care, he had cried enough for her, it was time for her to cry for him so he turned his back and buried his head in his hand.

"Jerome," she said loudly to grab his attention, "I love you okay and I'm sorry, will you love me back"

There was a strange silence in the room for a few seconds as Jerome formulated the question once again in his mind and Joy started to worry predicting the answer.

"Yes" he said as he rushed over to her bed, picked her up and kissed her. At that moment the remainder of the students rushed into the ward, they had been listening through the door. Everyone in Anubis house was rejoicing, sometimes it takes some tragedy to restore everyone's happiness, that was what they had all learned today.

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thanks for reading, if you enjoyed it please review, there should be an epilogue to follow :)


	9. Epilogue: Too Soon

just a short epilogue to finish with which I am pretty sure you will all hate me after but anyway enjoy! :)

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**And if you close your eyes  
does it almost feel like nothing's changed at all  
and if you close your eyes  
does it almost feel like you've been here before  
**Pompeii, Bastille

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Their hands were old and wrinkled as they grasped each other across the expanse between the armchairs facing the fire, aged 97 both Jerome and Joy Clarke were in their last days but they had each other and that's all that mattered. Jerome took a sip from his mug of hot tea and turned to look at his wife in the armchair next to him. That was when he realized that there was nobody there.

Jerome opened his eyes to find himself clutching his dead wife's hand, with tears rolling down her cheeks. Thirty seven was too soon, too soon for her to go, too soon for him to lose her forever. After recovery in the hospital, Joy had been told that she hadn't long to live, just longer than expected before she was pronounced dead. Whenever she turned thirty Jerome had hoped that they would live a long and happy life together but sadly that wasn't the case. After coming down with a serious infection, Joy had to be treated with medicine. They had been warned that while medicine was good for you normally, it could be fatal to Joy after the buildup of immunities already inside her and with this incident, this had been the case.

"Are you okay Mr. Clarke" the funeral director asked him,

Jerome took a deep breath in and out before replying, "No, but I'll get by" so that's what he did for the next 54 years of his life until he too died aged 91 alone in his rest place, the armchair in his living room that he had longed to share with Joy, the only girl ever for him.

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Thanks for reading and sticking with the story, if you enjoyed it please leave a review :)


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